Cloak and Dagger

Case File #1

No scenery aside from ratty graffiti on the underground walls was seen from the inside of the train car. Dark shadows loomed on the outside, the only source of light being the artificially illuminated carriage host to a dozen or so people. Mostly businessmen - men in suits, a few women, a watchful German Sheppard and its blind master, and one small child.

Said child found himself forced into the center of the car, only vaguely listening to the aimless chatter around him as he clutched the hem of his sweater in an anxious manner. He reached up with a frail hand, brushing a few strands of ash blond hair from his face to reveal the bright hazel eyes beneath them. With that same hand he dug into the pocket of his shorts, retrieving a crumpled piece of paper. Unfolding it, his eyes scanned the words for what felt like the hundredth time, and couldn't help but think back to the early morning conversation.

"But but -"

"No buts, Miji! Please, take this paper! Go to this address and tell them Runa Sasaki sent you! Please, you have to leave now!"

"But mom -!"

"Go!"

He remembered their teary faces, how they were both practically yelling at each other. She was just trying to protect him. She only wanted to save him.

He remembered the noise - the shatter of the window, the pleading, the screaming. He remembered the sights - six unidentifiable figures, his mother resisting, the blood.

Oh, so much blood.

He was now cupping his eyes with the crook of his elbow, sopping up the leaking saltwater.

My name is Momiji Sasaki. I'm seven years old. I'm a Capricorn born in the year of the rabbit. My favorite food is my mother's homemade miso soup. I love the color blue- it reminds me of the sky. And I have seen things no seven year old should see.

(=^-^= )

Sundown was approaching at a rather rapid pace as the passengers disembarked from the train into the crowded station. The crowd bustled with an unusual amount of excitement, chattering a bit more often than most often this time of evening.

Oh yeah. There was something in the newspaper about a famous actor coming to Shirashizu for a shooting at their next movie debut. Some rising star type.

Momiji couldn't find himself to care much. He was only troubled at the mass quantities of people and worried whether or not he would get squashed trying to escape the underground facility. He had already been shoved into an older couple by a pair of rowdy teenagers who seemed hell bent on reaching the front of the herd first. The blond stumbled around in the packed clumps of citizens and tourists as he flailed for the surface air.

Once he reached the top of the stairwell, gaining a clearer view to the inner city, the young child noticed the graying skies warning a storm on an already darkening evening where shop lights and lampposts started to dominate the streets. He plucked the crinkled paper from his pocket once again, determined to verify the number before he started aimlessly wandering the city streets after dark. He silently wished it continued to be daylight. Even the mind of a child could comprehend that they weren't supposed to be out and about after the sun had set. If he didn't find his destination soon, some unimaginable things might happen.

A drop of water fell onto the wrinkled parchment. Momiji read over the numbers again before the water had a chance to smear them.

1 9 1 Ave. Square

At this point in the journey, the mobs of people had lessened and many were ducking into their homes or slipping into open restaurants. The ash blond continued onwards down the main road, hazel optics frantically bouncing from side to side. Buildings flew on the side of his vision, his shoed feet scraping against the concrete flooring.